Our text in John’s Gospel this Sunday exposes Judas as the betrayer of Jesus. Judas is a perplexing personality in the Gospels. Judas spent the better part of three years with Jesus where he heard Jesus preach, saw the miracles of Jesus, and had the opportunity to know Jesus in private settings. Yet, when the moment of decision came, Judas rejected Jesus?
A reason Judas is a troubling personality in the Gospels is because we wonder, “if it happened to him, could it happen to me?” This Sunday, as we work through the passage, I hope you will be able to see and understand how Judas got to the place where Satan entered him and he did the terrible thing that he did. Judas stands in contrast to the other 11 disciples who, in spite of their faults, accepted Christ as the Savior of their souls. Through this passage we can better understand the security we have as a result of accepting God’s offer of Salvation in Christ and the relationship we have with Him because of that.
The life of Judas is a cautionary tale to anyone who is putting off accepting God’s offer of Salvation in Christ. Judas repeatedly held Jesus at a distance as he pursued his own path to achieve his own goals for life. His heart became hard to Jesus. The Gospel is a call to surrender to God’s offer of salvation in Christ, which includes an acceptance of God’s will for our lives. If you have been putting off trusting Christ, learn from what happened to Judas, and receive God’s gracious offer of salvation in Christ. Join me this Sunday as we see What Happened to Judas?